Vehicle-seat.



No. 738,020. PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1903. vR. L. FETTERS.

. VEHICLE SEAT.v

APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1903 N0 MODEL.

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Patented September 1, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT L. FETTERS, OF HELENA, MISSOURI.

VEHICLE-SEAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 738,020, dated September 1, 1903.

Application filed July 2, 1903- Serial No. 164,037. (No model.)

To aZZ whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that 1, ROBERT L. FETTERs, a citizen of the United States, residing at Helena, in the county of Andrew and State of Missouri, have invented new and useful Improvements in Vehicle-Seats, of which the following is a specification.

My invention pertains to vehicle-seats,more particularly elastic back-supports therefor; and it has for its objectto provide an elastic back-support which is simple, neat, and durable in construction and yet is adapted to be readily adjusted when it is desired to increase or diminish its elasticity.

The invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a view illustrating a vehicle'seat in end elevation and one of my improved sup ports, partly in elevation and partly in vertical section, as properly applied to the seat. Fig. 2 is a broken front elevation illustrating the seat and support. Fig. 3 is an enlarged side elevation of the coupling comprised in my improved support, and Fig. 4 is a detail transverse section taken in the plane indicated by the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Similar letters designate corresponding parts in all of the views of the drawings, referring to which A is the seat proper of a vehicle-seat, and B is the back thereof. The said back is hinged at a to the rear portion of the seat proper and is provided at its ends with metallic blocks I), only one of which is illustrated.

Two of myimproved supports are employed in conjunction with the seat proper, A, and back B; but as the supports are identical in construction I have deemed it sufficient to illustrate one support. In the present and preferred embodiment of my invention the said support comprises a rod 0, fixedly connected to the seat proper, A, at one front corner thereof and having a rearwardly-extending threaded portion d; a rod 2, hinged or pivotally connected to the block b, so as to swing vertically, and having a forwardly-extending threaded portion f; an angular nut n, mounted on and engaging the thread of the rod f; a nut 9', mounted on and engaging the thread of the rod 0; a standard (1, fixed to and ris ing from the end of the seat proper and havinga circular eye 1' at its upper end; a coiled spring 19, and an axially-movable sleeve 5. The said sleeve .9 has a bore t of angular form in cross-section receiving the nut n and a portion of circular form in cross-section receive ing the nut j, and it also has an end cap 9, threaded at i and arranged on its threaded end i; and provided with a smooth bore h, receiving the rod 0; an end cap in, threaded at m and arranged on its threaded end to and provided with a smooth bore Z, receiving the rod f, and a circumferential groove to, arranged in the eye 7' of standard q. The spring is mounted on the rod f within the axiallymovable sleeve and interposed between the nut 71 and the cap 7'0, forming one end of the said sleeve. The nutj serves to retain the axially-movable sleeve on the rod 0; but I desire it understood that any suitable means may be employed for this purpose without involving a departure from the scope of my invention.

In virtue of the construction described in the foregoing it will be observed that the spring is enabled to yieldingly hold the back Bin the position shown and return said back to such position when backward pressure is removed therefrom. From this it follows that the back will give rearwardly when a person in the seat leans backward; also, that the back will always tend to move forwardly to its normal position and by so doing will yieldingly support the back of the person and render the seat very comfortable. served that when it is desired to regulate the tension of the springp, and thereby increase or diminish the pull which the same exerts on the rodfand the back B, it is'simply necessary for the operator to grasp the roughened exterior surface of and axially rotate the sleeve 8, and thereby turn and adjust the nut 71 on the rod f. When the said nut 11. is adjusted toward the back B, the spring 10 will obviously be compressed and the elasticity of the support diminished, While when the nut is adjusted in the opposite direction-11 e., forwardly-the support will be rendered more yielding.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that my improved support is simple and com- It will also be ob- ICO pact and embodies no delicate parts such as are likely to get out of order after a short period of use; also, that the support is calculated to enhance rather than detract from the finished appearance of the seat to which it is applied. In this connection I desire it understood that in some cases the parts of my improved support may be so formed as to admit of the support being wholly or partly covered with upholstery; also, that the parts may be variously shaped and arranged to adapt the support for use. on different kinds of vehicle-seats. I further desire it understood that the support may be applied to some seats at present in use, as well as embodied in seats at the time of manufacture.

I have entered into a detailed description of the construction and relative arrangement of the parts embraced in the present and preferred embodiment of my invention in order to impart a full, clear, and exact understanding of the same. I do not desire, however, to be understood as confining myself to such specific construction and arrangement of parts, as such changes or modifications may be made in practice as fairly fall within the scope of my invention as claimed.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, 1s-.'-

1. A support for the backs of vehicle-seats, comprising two rods, an angular nut mo u uted on and engaginga thread of one rod, and adjustable in the direction of the length thereof, an axially-movable sleeve retained on the rods, and having an angular bore conforming to and receiving the angular nut, and a spring surrounding the rod bearing the nut, and interposed between said nut and the portion of the sleeve on the said rod.

2. In a vehicle-seat, the combination with the seat and back; of a rod connected to the one, and a threaded rod connected to the other, an angular nut mounted on the threaded rod, an axially-movable sleeve retained on the rods, and having an angular bore conforming to and receiving the nut, and a coiled spring surrounding the threaded rod and interposed between the angular nut and the portion of the sleeve on the threaded rod.

3. In a vehicle-seat, the combination with the seat and back; of a rod connected to the one, and a threaded rod connected to the other, an angular nut mounted on the threaded rod, an axially-movable sleeve retained on the rods, and having an angular bore conforming to and receiving the nut, and also having a circumferential groove, a coiled 7 spring surrounding the threaded rod and intel-posed between the nut and the portion of the sleeve on said rod, and a standard connected to the seat, and having an eye receiving the circumferentially-grooved portion of the sleeve.

4. A support for the backs of vehicle-seats, comprising two threaded rods, a threaded cap loosely mounted on one rod, a nut arranged on and engaging the thread of said rod to secure the cap thereon, a cap loosely mounted on the other rod, an angular nut mounted on and engaging the thread of the latter rod, a coiled spring surrounding said rod and interposed between the cap thereon,-and the angular nut, and a sleeve having threaded ends engaging the threads of the caps, and also having an angular bore containing the angular nut.

5. A support for the backs of vehicle-seats, comprising two threaded rods, a threaded cap loosely mounted on one rod, a nut arranged on and engaging the thread of said rod to se cure the cap thereon, a cap looselymountedon the other rod, an angular nut mounted on and engaging the thread of the latter rod, a coiled spring surrounding said rod and interposed between the cap thereon and the angular nut, a sleeve having a circumferential groove, and also having threaded ends engaging the threads of the caps, and an angular bore containing the angular nut, and a standard having an eye receiving the circumferentially-grooved portion of the sleeve.

6. In a vehicle-seat, the combination with the seat and back; of threaded rods connected to the said seat and back, a threadedcap loosely mounted on one rod; a nut arranged on and engaging the thread of said rod to secure the cap thereon, a threaded cap loosely mounted on the other rod, an angular nut mounted on and engaging the thread of the latter rod, a coiled spring surrounding said rod, and interposed between the cap thereon and the angular nut, and an axially-movable sleeve having threaded end engaging the threads of the caps, and fixed with respect to ROBERT L. FETTERS.

Witnesses:

G. A. Soo'r'r, J. R. FETTEns. 

